Prescription for Pain

Informationen zum Autor Philip Eil is an award-winning freelance journalist based in his hometown, Providence, Rhode Island. He is the former news editor of the alt-weekly newspaper, The Providence Phoenix . Since the paper's close in 2014, he has contributed to The Atlantic , Men's Health , the Boston Globe , Huffington Post , and the Columbia Journalism Review , among other outlets. He has also taught writing and journalism classes at Brown University, Columbia University's School of the Arts, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the Columbia University School of the Arts. This is his first book. Klappentext An obsessive true crime investigation of a bizarre and unlikely perpetrator, who's serving the opioid epidemic's longest term for illegal prescriptions four life sentences Written in the tradition of I'll Be Gone in the Dark and True Crime Addict , combining Dopesick's heart rending portrayal of the epidemic's victims with Empire of Pain's examination of its perpetrators This haunting and propulsive debut follows a journalist's years-long investigation into an old classmate of his father's: former high school valedictorian Paul Volkman, who once seemed destined for greatness after earning his MD and his PhD from the prestigious University of Chicago, but is now currently serving four consecutive life sentences at a federal prison in Arizona. Volkman was the central figure in a massive pill mill scheme in southern Ohio. His pain clinics accepted only cash, employed armed guards, and dispensed a torrent of opioid painkillers and other controlled substances. For nearly three years, Volkman remained in business, despite raids by law enforcement and complaints from patients' family members. Prosecutors would ultimately link him to the overdose deaths of 13 patients, though investigators explored his ties to at least 20 other deaths. This groundbreaking book is based on 12 years of correspondence and interviews with Volkman. Eil also traveled to 19 states, interviewed more than 150 people, and filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration that led to the release of nearly 20,000 pages of trial evidence. The American opioid epidemic is, like this book, a true crime story. Through this one doctor's story, an era of unfathomable tragedy is brought down to a tangible, and devastating, human scale. Leseprobe Prologue: The Arrest Lake Shore Drive runs along the eastern edge of the city of Chicago, separating the skyscrapers of downtown from the shores of Lake Michigan. The roadway begins in the South Side, and continues north to the city's upper outskirts. Along the way, travelers pass an array of dazzling sights: beaches, parks, museums, a football stadium, a Ferris wheel. With four lanes in each direction, the road carries more than 100,000 vehicles every day, while countless additional bikers, walkers, joggers, and rollerbladers use the abutting paths. But Lake Shore Drive is more than just a means of transportation; it's also a status symbol. The highway has been the address of movie stars, professional athletes, and other celebrities. In this way, Lake Shore Drive is a bit like Park Avenue in New York or Ocean Drive in Miami: it's both a mark of prestige and an instantly recognizable landmark. The road makes appearances in famous Chicago-set films like Risky Business, Ferris Bueller's Day Off , and The Blues Brothers . In 1998, a Chicago Tribune architecture critic wrote that The lakefront is Chicago's undisputed crown jewelthe face Chicago presents to the world. And, of course, if you live in Chicago, Lake Shore Drive needs no introduction at all. I recently spoke with someone from the city who described it in blunt and memorable terms. When you are from...

Auteur

Philip Eil is an award-winning freelance journalist based in his hometown, Providence, Rhode Island. He is the former news editor of the alt-weekly newspaper, The Providence Phoenix. Since the paper’s close in 2014, he has contributed to The Atlantic, Men’s Health, the Boston Globe, Huffington Post, and the Columbia Journalism Review, among other outlets. He has also taught writing and journalism classes at Brown University, Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the Columbia University School of the Arts. This is his first book.

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**An obsessive true crime investigation of a bizarre and unlikely perpetrator, who’s serving the opioid epidemic’s longest term for illegal prescriptions — four life sentences

Written in the tradition of I'll Be Gone in the Dark and True Crime Addict, combining Dopesick's heart rending portrayal of the epidemic's victims with Empire of Pain's examination of its perpetrators

This haunting and propulsive debut follows a journalist’s lengthy relationship and years-long investigation into an old classmate of his father’s: former high school valedictorian Paul Volkman, who once seemed destined for a Nobel Prize after simultaneously earning his MD and his PhD in just four years, but is now currently serving four consecutive life sentences at federal prison in Arizona.

Volkman, a graduate of the prestigious University of Chicago medical school, was the central figure in a massive “pill mill” scheme in southern Ohio that generated millions of dollars in cash. Prosecutors would ultimately link him to the overdose deaths of 13 patients, and believed his misdeeds may have led to 22 more.

This groundbreaking book is based on 12 years of correspondence and interviews with Volkman—the first of which took place on the day of Volkman’s sentencing. Eil also traveled to 19 states, interviewing more than 150 people with direct knowledge of Volkman and his actions. It turns out that many pharmacists and drug companies reported Volkman, and Eil’s investigative reporting included Freedom of Information Act lawsuits that led to the release 20,000 pages of evidence that showed the government knew what Volkman was doing but did nothing to stop him.

The American opioid epidemic is, like this book, a true crime story. Through this one doctor’s story, an era of unfathomable tragedy is brought down to a tangible, and devastating, human scale.

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Prologue: The Arrest
Lake Shore Drive runs along the eastern edge of the city of Chicago, separating the skyscrapers of downtown from the shores of Lake Michigan. The roadway begins in the South Side, and continues north to the city’s upper outskirts. Along the way, travelers pass an array of dazzling sights: beaches, parks, museums, a football stadium, a Ferris wheel. With four lanes in each direction, the road carries more than 100,000 vehicles every day, while countless additional bikers, walkers, joggers, and rollerbladers use the abutting paths. 
But Lake Shore Drive is more than just a means of transportation; it’s also a status symbol. The highway has been the address of movie stars, professional athletes, and other celebrities. In this way, Lake Shore Drive is a bit like Park Avenue in New York or Ocean Drive in Miami: it’s both a mark of prestige and an instantly recognizable landmark. The road makes appearances in famous Chicago-set films like Risky Business, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Blues Brothers. In 1998, a Chicago Tribune architecture critic wrote that “The lakefront is Chicago's undisputed crown jewel…the face Chicago presents to the world.”  
And, of course, if you live in Chicago, Lake Shore Drive needs no introduction at all. I recently spoke with someone from the city who described it in blunt and memorable terms. “When you are from Chicago and you say or hear &…